Shriver Report Skips Frustrating Family Issue of the School Year

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For a comprehensive rebuttal to The Shriver Report, google "No Bull Mom."

Suzanne Venker of MO 10:11PM October 27, 2009

4-5 weeks vacation. UNPAID vacation. No one said having a kid was cheap. If you CAN'T AFFORD it then DO NOT HAVE KIDS! It's not fair to the MAJORITY of the workforce who are smart enough to NOT HAVE KIDS. I am sick and tired of my coworkers leaving early, calling out because they have a sick kid or a "kid" problem and I HAVE TO PICK UP their slack.

Pete Jones of CA 5:28PM October 23, 2009

Hi Mary Kate
Really appreciate you putting my question about summer vacation to the panel. Thanks.
This is the practical stuff that really affects working parents on a day to day basis.
Please continue to raise these issues.
In response to the question about kids above: Is anyone suggesting that we scrap summer vacations? No, we're just saying that such a long break is impractical, inequitable (see reports on how it affects low income kids, expensive and anachronistic.
It's also an old fashioned idea that seems better suited to the 50s and 60s of MadMen where women trundled off in the station wagons to the Cape or Martha's Vineyard for 12 weeks leaving their men behind to work, drink cocktails, and have dalliances with their secretaries.
The latter two are definitely unacceptable these days. I think it is time for the third to get dumped, too. The 10 to 12 summer vacation should go the way of the five martini lunch.
I've followed up on our blog,http://momstowork.com/10/20/maria-shriver-summer-vacation-more-stressful-than-anything-else/
Thanks again.

Julie Power of MD 9:59AM October 20, 2009

Unfortunately, there are parents who cannot afford to take off in the summer to spend quality time with their children. Instead, these children are left home to care for themselves. The issue is not black and white. There are a lot of gray areas one needs to consider.

Xiomara of NJ 8:35AM October 20, 2009

try hiring teachers at current pay levels and tell them they'll no longer have the 3 reasons anyone good teaches anymore: June/July/August.
Teaching is exhausting and teachers need a break...so do kids who need time to play and process. But then teachers kids always take a back seat in this corporatocracy, don't they?
Corporations could be required to allow more flexibility as they do in many countries...to say nothing of how 4-5 week vacationss would solve some of the summer dilemma and kids could spend time learning with their parents (like mine do) instead of sitting at a desk.
But the economy needs to grow...and grow....and grow far more than we need healthy families.

Peji of CA 10:47PM October 19, 2009

Mary Kate,
I was one of the bloggers on the call today and thought your question was an excellent one (and you showed that you had actually pored over the report looking for the answer!). My concern is that this is just another "report" that contains not a whole lot of groundbreaking news or statistics, and while the report should be given credit for starting a conversation, I'm not sure how long that conversation will last. With no plans for follow-up or leadership to show "what's next," it leaves one feeling rather hollow. My guess is once the PR hoopla is done in a few days, this critically important topic will just fade away.

Michele Miller of MI 8:19PM October 19, 2009